"LUCY!" he yelled, anger and fear mingling to make an agonizing symphony.
He dropped down, horrified by the sight before him. Lucy lay trembling, blood spilling from her stomach. Her dark, brown eyes full of fear.
"Help me, Gray…" she whispered, blood running past her soft, pink lips.
"Shh, save your breath," he told her, squeezing her hand.
A crowd had gathered around the dying woman.
"Give her some air!" screamed Gray, reprimanding the crowd.
"Wait! Wait! Let me in!" cried a frantic voice.
Her cobalt hair billowed behind her in the likeness of silk. A stray curler bounced along, a fuzzy white robe slipping off her shoulders. It was Juvia, sprinting toward the dying girl her blue bunny slippers slapping the hard-wood floor. She was yelling for Wendy to 'come quick!'
"Stay with me, Lucy!" she growled. She clasped her hands over Lucy's wound, pressing down. Wendy ran forward and her hands began to glow. She slipped them under Juvia's still applying pressure. Lucy's eyes fluttered closed and she lay motionless.
"Well, she's dead. Let's get back together!" Juvia said smiling.
"I'm not dead,"
Her brown eyes opened slowly, meeting Gray's black ones. He clutched her body to his chest, running a hand through her soft, golden hair.
"Gray…" she whispered softly.
The whole congregation fell very silent watching the ice wizard seethe in a frigid rage. He hefted a shocked Lucy into his arms princess-style. She wrapped her trembling arms around his neck, in need of some stability.
"HEY! Why do you get to be Lucy's knight in shining armor?!" fumed Natsu.
"Go ahead and take her if you want to," he spat. Starting up the stairs, he discovered a silver pistol at the bottom stair. Pocketing it, he began to climb.
Lucy didn't say anything, just held onto Gray a little tighter. He blushed and pulled her a little closer. They reached a generic oak door. He opened it and deposited Lucy on the soft, pale blue sofa.
"I'm not trying to be perverted or anything, but I need to see how well Wendy healed you."
He pulled up her shirt, just a little and ran his calloused fingertips over the creamy skin where just moments ago there had been a gunshot wound. She shivered involuntarily at his touch.
"Something's not quite right about this picture," he murmured pulling her shirt back down. He looked up at her.
"Do you remember anything about who shot you?"
She nodded and opened her mouth to speak. "Everyone else had already gone to bed but I waited up for you. I was worried…"
Gray turned away trying to hide his blushing face.
"Well, after being there for a few hours I started thinking aloud how worried I was about you, how I hoped you made it back okay-"
She looked at Gray's crimson cheeks. "Are you feverish?" she asked reaching out to touch his face.
"I'm…I'm not feverish!"
"You feel like it. Anyway, I heard a gun cock and I put my hands up and turned around very slowly. I'm pretty sure it was a woman from her stance. She had long haired a coat or a robe…"
"Anything else?"
"Well her stance looked just like yours does when you cast ice make magic."
He smiled and gave her a swift kiss on the forehead.
"That's all I need to know. You should go to sleep. You're safe here, Lucy."
He opened the door and closed it gently behind him. Lucy touched the place where he kissed her wanting to trap some of the warmth from his lips.
Gray stood in the dark hallway, his charcoal eyes fixed on a curvaceous woman leaning against the wall, dark eyes full of jealousy, anger, and murderous intentions.
"You were very obvious about it."
He removed the pistol from his pocket and tossed it between his hands. Made of sterling silver, it had an almost…liquid feel. Sapphire curlicues cascaded across the handle. "It screams you."
"Only you could put together all the pieces of the puzzle, my sweet,"
She stepped into the light, blue hair falling gracefully about her shoulders. "Let's play a game," she started "a game of cat and cat. And everyone else is a mouse. Because I know that you're good and I'm good, but who's better?"
He leaned back. "So, whip until they give in?"
She nodded her lip curling in a vixenous smile. "And the stakes," she began throwing her hands about in flourishing, smooth movements, "if I win you are mine for now and forever-"
Gray cut her off. "Yeah right."
Her midnight colored eyes sparkled and widened. "I don't wanna be a stupid girl. But baby if I act like that, flippin' my blue hair back, push up my bra like that, maybe you will take me back?"
"Get back to the point. And if I win?"
She sighed dramatically. "If you win, I'll relinquish Cassandra, the scepter of ice, and the water element's ultimate power!"
Summoning the greatest staff from a realm far beyond the mortal reach, her hand closing around the frigid scepter.
"See, love? This power can be yours if you can beat me," she brandished it and handed it to him.
He took it and tossed it between his calloused hands. He pointed it at a stray butterfly resting on her soft hair. A bolt of white ice shot from the staff, freezing the butterfly mid-flight. "Hmm. Powerful," he muttered turning the scepter in his hand. He looked up. "You also must promise to leave Lucy alone."
She nodded. "Deal."
They shook on it and slunk away, scheming each other's downfall. Lucy had fallen into a deep slumber on Gray's couch. He chuckled to himself and tucked a loose strand of gold hair behind her ear. With that he fell asleep, already plotting his move.
She worked in the night.